I have found spinach puree to be an easy addition to our family meals. It’s so easy. Just take a bag of clean baby spinach, drop by the handful into a food processor and puree. That’s right, no cooking needed. About half a bag of baby spinach leaves will make 1/2 cup of spinach puree, that’s a lot of spinach! For this recipe, I’ve added it to…

Turkey Meat Loaf

1 can tomato paste

1 can beef broth

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 t dried oregano

1/2 t dried basil

pinch of salt

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup quick oats

2 egg whites

1/2 cup spinach puree

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the tomato paste, beef broth, garlic, basil, oregano, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Set aside.

Combine the ground turkey, oatmeal, egg whites, spinach and 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce mixture in a large bowl. Shape into a loaf and bake for 30-35 minutes. I check to see if it’s cooked through at this point. Then pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Now, I’m no fool. My kids would likely balk if they saw this:

Instead they saw just a slice.

My I-only-eat-white-food son’s reaction: mmmmm….

Mom Tip #1: When trying something new for dinner, I put it with things that my kids have seen lots of times…mixed veggies, mashed potatoes, sliced fruit.

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Shape patties, some big for adults, some mini for the kids. On a non-stick pan sprayed with cooking spray, cook hamburgers 5-7 minutes per side, depending on how thick they are. Mom Tip: While the patties cook, have the kids cut out buns using wheat bread and cookie cutters. Tonight my kids used gingerbread, Christmas tree, and stocking shapes. My son refused to let me photo his tree shaped burger, but it was so cute!

*Baby spinach is super easy because there is no cooking necessary! Just grab a big handful of clean baby spinach and put it in the food processor.